Coming Attractions: Cinema Teasers from the Silent Era

Coming Attractions: Cinema Teasers from the Silent Era. "...The W. Ward Marsh Lantern Slide Collection offers a glimpse of the American cinema from 1915 to 1928. Access to this legacy of film history is available to patrons in the Main Library, as well as to remote viewers via this Internet exhibit.
The Lantern Slides, which were used as advertisements for coming attractions in silent movie theatres, are part of the Cleveland Public Library`s W. Ward Marsh Cinema Archives. Mr. Marsh was movie critic for the Cleveland Plain Dealer for over 50 years, beginning in 1919. The slides came to the Library in the early 1970s, but were not accessible to the public until now.
The lantern slides were made by printing a photographic negative onto a square of glass, typically three inches by four inches. Black and white photographs could be enhanced by tinting, toning, dyeing, or by hand painting areas of transparent color over the image. A second piece of clear glass, known as the "cover glass" or protecting glass was laid down on top, and the edges of the two pieces were bound with strips of black binding paper."